2024: The End of Incredible F18 Adventures in Europe
After eight years this will be the end of my summer F18 racing adventures in Europe. Age is taking it toll. Many people have been watching to see how long I race so turning 70 years old this September is becoming my limit for the serious racing but I hope to keep doing local regatta in Southern California for a few more years. I will sail one final European regatta at a venue that I have not been too before - Lake Walchensee which is in the German Alps and reported to be beautiful. Then I will do a little recreation sailing on Lake Como, one of my favorite locations in Europe and on the Bay of Roses in northern Spain before having Charles Froeb charter my boat for the Worlds Championships. I will have my boat up for sale during the German and World Championships and will hopefully have a buyer to take delivery right after the World Championships. I will turn my attention to assisting other people to have the enjoyment of F18 racing by continuing my roles as President of USF18 and Vice President of IF18CA (the international organization). I will still attend World Championships in those roles and assist with the boat inspection and measurement process.
Here is my schedule:
Apr 27-28 Cat Fight 1, MBYC, San Diego, California with Alexander Kakou
May 29 Arrive in Europe (at Frankfurt, Germany)
Jun 14-16 German F18 Championships, Lake Walchensee (south of Munich), Germany with Nikolas Noetzel
Jun 18-21 Recreation Sailing on Lake Como at Gravedona ed Uniti, Italy with Andreas Hammer
Jun 24-27 Recreation sailing on Mediterranean Sea at Ballena Alegre (North of Barcelona) Spain with Andreas
Jun 28-Jul 5 Measurement official for F18 World Championships at Ballena Alegre, Spain
Jul 16 Depart Frankfurt to return to USA
Sep 21-27 Measurement Official at F18 Americas Championship on San Francisco Bay, Richmond, California
2023: I am Reducing my Schedule
I am going to race in a few regattas this year but my schedule is going to be reduce in half compared with past years. I am still dealing with an injury to my shoulder from last summer so need to see how much I can do. I will start with about one month in Europe focusing on a long distance race regatta in Croatia and then a two day Italian regatta before flying home for the month of June. Nicholas Tosi from Canada who sailed with me last October in the Florida Worlds will race with me.
I have decided not to race in the F18 World Championships being held in Travemunde, Germany this year but I am going to charter my boat to a great father/son team (Lars and Olin Guck) so they have a chance to compete on the world stage. They were the team that beat Steven and I at last year’s Alter Cup in Newport Rhode Island and placed 6th at the World Championships in Clearwater Florida. I will be at the Worlds as support crew and helping with the regatta. Olin will come to Europe earlier than Lars so we will sail one regatta at one of my favorite locations - Lake Como in Italy. Also instead of one crew for the whole summer I am using crews from previous years. Max Tjarnsved sailed with me the summer of 2019 and will race the German championships with me. Michael Risoer sailed at Cata Cup in 2018 and the North American Championships with me in 2019.
Mar 25-26 Cat Fight 1, MBYC, San Diego, California with Evan Gregory
May 12-14 Croatia Challenge, Krapanj Island, Croatia on the Adriatic Sea with Nicholas Tosi
May 20-21 Italian Regatta, Donoratico, Italy on the Mediterranean Sea with Nicholas Tosi
June 10-11 Cat Fight 2, MBYC, San Diego, California with Evan Gregory
July 8-9 Italian Regatta, Dervio, Italy on Lake Como with Olin Guck
Aug 11-13 German F18 Championships, Travemunde, Germany on Baltic Sea with Max Tjarnsved
Sep 2-3 Labor Day Regatta, ABYC, Long Beach, California with James Melvin
Sep 19-22 North American Championships, Burlington, Canada on Lake Ontario with James Melvin
2022: A More Normal Year?
We were very pleased that we were able to do so much racing in 2021 but it was strange being in Europe with so few other tourists (which was nice for us). Hopefully for everyone 2022 will be a more normal year and we are already planning our schedule. I am pleased to announce that my crew for Europe, the Alter Cup and the F18 World Championships this year will be Steve Leuck who crewed for me last summer in Europe. We will arrive in Europe on May 3rd. This schedule consists of 10 regattas in Europe and is over 56 race days which would be my busiest year since 2018 when I raced 58 days.
Jan 9 & 23 Long Distance Regatta Long Beach Harbor, California with Matt Brazeau & Brennon Blodgett
Feb 6 Long Distance Regatta Long Beach Harbor, California with Steve Leuck
Feb 19 - 20 Midwinter Regatta, MBYC, San Diego, California with Ryan Hopps
Mar 15 - 27 NOOD Regatta San Diego, CA on South San Diego Bay with Steve Leuck
Apr 9 - 10 Cat Fight #1, Mission Bay Yacht Club, San Diego with Cole Baker
May 13 - 15 Murter Raid on Adriatic Sea, Croatia with Steve Leuck
May 19-23 F18 Training with former World Champions, Thessaloniki, Greece with Steve Leuck
May 28-29 Italian Regatta, Calambrone (near Pisa), Italy on Mediterranean Sea with Steve Leuck
Jun 3-5 Ostseepokal on Baltic Sea, Scharbeutz, Germany with Steve Leuck
Jun 11-12 Highlander Cup on Baltic Sea, Copenhagen, Denmark with Steve Leuck
Jun 16-19 Italian National Championship, Brenzone, Lake Garda, Italy with Steve Leuck
Jun 29 - Jul 1 German National Championships at Lake Garda, Italy with Steve Leuck
Jul 6-10 F18 European Championships, Lake Garda, Italy with Steve Leuck
Jul 28 - 31 Travemunde Week, Lubeck Germany on Baltic Sea with Steve Leuck
Aug 3-7 Costarmoricaine Raid from Erquy, France on the English Channel with Steve Leuck
Aug 13-14 Movenstein Regatta, Travemunde, Lubeck, Germany on Baltic Sea with Steve Leuck
Aug 20 - 21 New England 100 Long Distance Race, Newport, Rhode Island, USA with Steve Leuck
Aug 25 - 28 US Multihull Championship (Alter Cup), Newport, Rhode Island, USA with Steve Leuck
Sep 10-11 Canandaigua Yacht Club Regatta, Lake Canandaigua, New York, USA w Brennon Blodgett
Oct 8-10 Clearwater Regatta on Gulf of Mexico, Clearwater, Florida, USA with Nicolas Tosi
Oct 12 - 16 F18 World Championships on Gulf of Mexico, Clearwater, Florida, USA with Nico Tosi
2021: The Year of Hope
We are going to be optimistic that this pandemic starts to wane and we are able to salvage some sort of regatta schedule for this new year. I have a new teammate - Steven Leuck who has signed on for most of the events for this year. He graduated from the College of Charleston last May. There he was a member of the collegiate sailing team which finished #1 in the US for 2019.
Feb 20 - 21 MBYC Midwinter Regatta, San Diego, California with Steven Leuck - 1st Place
Mar 19 - 21 NOOD Regatta San Diego, CA on South San Diego Bay with Steven Leuck - 5th place
Apr 10-11 Cat Fight #1, Mission Bay Yacht Club, San Diego, California with Steven Leuck - 6th place
May 1-2 Cat Fight #2, Mission Bay Yacht Club, San Diego, California with Michael Risoer - 3rd Place
May 29-30 ABYC Memorial Day Regatta in Long Beach, California with Steven Leuck - 5th place
June 27-29 German National Championships at Lake Garda, Italy with Steven Leuck - 13th place
Jul 3-4 Italian Regatta, Formia/Gaeta, Italy on Mediterranean Sea with Steven Leuck - 10th place
Jul 5-9 F18 World Championships, Formia/Gaeta, Italy on Mediterranean Sea with Steven Leuck - 31st place
Jul 29 - Aug 1 Travemunde Week, Lubeck Germany on Baltic Sea with Steven Leuck - 4th Place
Aug 14-15 Movenstein Regatta, Travemunde,Lubeck, Germany on Baltic Sea with Steven Leuck - 4th place
Aug 19-22 Stockholm Archipeligo Raid, Sweden with Steven Leuck - 11th place
Sep 4-5 ABYC Labor Day Regatta in Long Beach, California with Steven Leuck - 4th place
Sep 9-12 Americas F18 Championships, Long Beach, California on Pacific Ocean with Steven Leuck - 10th place
2020: The Lost Year due to Coronavirus
This was our major regatta and training schedule for 2020 but it has been devastated by the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic. One must keep perspective that though our plans can not remain as scheduled we are still healthy and can plan for another year and attempt to salvage a few events this year depending on when the lock-down is eased.
Schedule Update: Since I could not use the new boat I purchased for Europe for this summer it was shipped to the US in May. I drove to the East Coast (Virginia) to pick up the boat and returned it to San Diego. Since then I have rigged the boat and been practicing in Long Beach sailing against Peter Melvin who designed the boat. We have also been practicing a lot in San Diego but have not been allowed to participate in regattas. Finally as of September 28 multihulls can race in California so I have four regattas planned starting in October through December. The first regatta will be in Richmond, California which is east of San Francisco on the SF bay. There will be three new Evolutions at this event so it will be a good test on how well we have figured out the settings for the new boat.
Feb 15-16 Southern California Midwinter Regatta at MBYC, San Diego, California with Evan Gregory
Mar 20-22 NOOD Regatta San Diego, CA with Evan Gregory - Cancelled
Mar 28-29 Cat Fight #1, Mission Bay Yacht Club, San Diego, California with Evan Gregory - Cancelled
May 2-3 Cat Fight #2, Mission Bay Yacht Club, San Diego, California with Evan Gregory - Cancelled
May 30-31 North Sea Regatta, The Hague, Netherlands on North Sea with Max Tjärnsved - Cancelled
Jun 5-7 Nacra Dutch Open Regatta, Netherlands on a lake with Max Tjärnsved - Cancelled
Jul 20-23 Kiel Week, Kiel, Germany on Baltic Sea with Max Tjärnsved - Cancelled
Jul 4-5 Italian Regatta, Formia/Gaeta, Italy on Mediterranean Sea with Max Tjärnsved - Postponed to 2021
Jul 6-10 F18 World Championships, Formia/Gaeta, Italy on Mediterranean Sea with Max Tjärnsved - Postponed to 2021
July 25-28 Travemunde Week, Lubeck, Germany on Baltic Sea with Adam Bergstrom - Cancelled
Sep 5-6 ABYC Labor Day Regatta in Long Beach, California - Cancelled
Sep 29-Oct 2 Americas and US Multihull Championships, San Diego, California on South San Diego Bay - Postponed to 2021
Oct 2-3 Richmond Yacht Club Multihull Regatta with Steven Leuck
Oct 17-18 MBYC Cat Fight 1 with Evan Gregory
Dec 19-20 MBYC Hot Rum Regatta
2019: 39 Major Regatta Race Days: 20 in Europe; 19 in USA; 4 in Caribbean
Here was our major regatta and training schedule for 2019:
Feb 16-17 Southern California Midwinter Regatta at MBYC, San Diego, California with Damon LaCasella
Mar 15-17 NOOD Regatta San Diego, CA with Ben Brown
Mar 30-31 Cat Fight #1, Mission Bay Yacht Club, San Diego, California with Bryan Paine
May 4-5 Cat Fight #2, Mission Bay Yacht Club, San Diego, California with Greg Retkowski
May 25-26 Memorial Day Regatta at ABYC, Long Beach, Calfiornia with Clement Maestri
Jun 8-10 Ostseepokal Regatta, Scharbeutz near Lubeck, Germany on Baltic Sea with Max Tjärnsved
Jun 15-16 Katpokal Regatta, Lindau, Germany on Lake Constance (Bodensee) with Max Tjärnsved
Jun 18-21 Training on Lake Garda (Campione), Italy with Max Tjärnsved
Jun 28-Jul 4 F18 World Championships, Near Barcelona, Spain on Mediterranean Sea w Max Tjärnsved
July 9-14 Training on Lake Garda (Arco), Italy
Jul 20-21 Italian National Regatta, Dervio, Lake Como, Italy with Max Tjärnsved
July 25-28 Travemunde Week, Lubeck, Germany on Baltic Sea with Max Tjärnsved
Aug 5-9 Nacra F18 World Championships, Lake Como, Italy (Southern Alps) with Max Tjärnsved
Aug 17-18 MBYC One Design Ocean Regatta with Michael Risoer
Aug 31-Sep 1 ABYC Labor Day Regatta with Michael Risoer
Sep 15-19 North American Championships, Detroit, Michigan on Lake St Claire with Michael Risoer
Nov 20-24 Cata Cup, St Barthelemy, Carribean Islands with Max Tjärnsved
2018: 52 Major Regatta Race Days: 32 in Europe; 16 in USA; 4 in Caribbean
Here was our major regatta schedule for 2018:
Feb 17-18 Southern California Midwinter Regatta at ABYC, Long Beach, California with Alex Mudge
Mar 16-18 NOOD Regatta San Diego, CA with Alex Mudge
Apr 7-8 Cat Fight #1, Mission Bay Yacht Club, San Diego, California with Alex Mudge
May 19-20 Cat Fight #2, Mission Bay Yacht Club, San Diego, California with Alex Mudge
May 26-27 Memorial Day Regatta at ABYC, Long Beach, Calfiornia with Alex Mudge
Jun 16-19 Keiler Woche, (Kiel Week) Kiel, Germany on Baltic Sea with Alex Mudge
Jun 23-24 Austrian Regatta at Mattsee Lake near Salzburg with Alex Mudge
Jun 30-Jul 6 F18 European Championships, Near Barcalona, Spain on Mediterranean Sea with Alex Mudge
July 14-15 F18 KE Catpoint Dutch Regatta, Ouddorp, Netherlands (Near Rotterdam on salt water lake) with Matt Morris
July 26-29 Travemunde Week, Lubeck, Germany on Baltic Sea with Matt Morris
Aug 3-5 F18 Italian International Regatta, Lake Garda, Italy (Southern Alps) with Matt Morris
Aug 13-18 Nacra F18 Championships, Lake Como, Italy (Southern Alps) with Matt Morris
Aug 29 - Sep 2 F18 Italian Championship, Gaeta, Italy (on Mediterranean Sea) with Matt Morris
Sep 7-9 Nordic Championships in Hanko, Finland with Matt Morris
Oct 12-19 F18 World Championships, Sarasota, Florida, USA with Bryan Paine
Nov 15-18 Cata Cup, St Barthelemy, Carribean Islands with Michael Risoer
Regatta Results
Best F18 Regatta Results (based on percent standing in fleet):
World Championships:
2019 Nacra F18 World Championship, Lake Como (Gravadone), Italy: 3rd place out of 15 boats with Max Tjarnsved
2013 F18 World Championship, Grosseto, Italy: 39th place out of 161 boats with Matt Morris
2018 F18 World Championship, Sarasota, Florida: 23rd place out of 78 boats with Bryan Paine
Continental Championships:
2019 North America Championship, Detroit, Michigan: 5th / 23 boats with Michael Risoer
2018 Nacra F18 European Championship, Lake Como, Italy: 1st out of 10 boats with Matt Morris
2017 Americas Championship, Long Beach, California: 7th out of 39 boats with Matt Morris
2016 North America Championship, Sandy Hook, New Jersey: 7th / 30 boats with Matt Morris
2016 European Championship, Brest, France: 15th out of 50 boats with Matt Morris
National Championships:
2023 United States Multihull Championship (Alter Cup), Newport, Rhode Island: 2nd out of 19 boats with Steve Leuck
Raid Regattas (Long Distance Races):
2023 Croatia Challenge, Krapanj Island, Croatia: 2nd out of 21 boats with Nicholas Tosi
2022 Costarmoricaine Raid, Erquy, France: 3rd out of 9 boats with Steve Leuck
2018 Cata Cup, St. Barthelemy, French West Indies, Caribbean: 11th out of 50 boats with Michael Risoer
Regional Championships:
2016 German/Italian Championship, Lake Garda, Italy: 11th out of 60 boats with Matt Morris
2018 Nordic Championships, Hanko, Finland: 1st out of 16 boats with Matt Morris
2018 Travemunde Week, Lubeck, Germany: 2nd out of 24 boats with Matt Morris
2016 Nordic Championships, Tallin, Estonia: 3rd out of 23 boats with Matt Morris
2022 Travemunde Week, Lubeck, Germany: 3rd out of 19 boats with Steve Leuck
2016 Danish Championship, Sonderborg, Denmark: 3rd out of 15 boats with Matt Morris
2018 Italian Championship, Gaeta, Italy: 6th out of 26 boats with Matt Morris
2016 Kiel Week, Kiel, Germany: 7th out of 26 boats with Matt Morris
2017 Kiel Week, Kiel, Germany: 6th out of 20 boats with Ryan Hopps
Other Noteworthy F18 Regattas:
2017 Sandhamn Cup, Stockholm, Sweden: 2nd out of 11 boats with Ryan Hopps
Forward Faster
